Peep, Peep, Bebe! French Hen Parenting

C'est la poulette / The Little Hen

C'est la poulette

C'est la poulette
Qui mange la galette
Elle en a tant mangé
Qu'elle s'est étouffée.

The Little Hen

This is a little chick
Who gobbles all the cake
She eats so much so quick,
That she choked by mistake.

When Alice saw Laurenjoan at the back door with the yellow cake - she ran as fast as she could. As the big and little yellow crumbs came flying out the door, Alice gobbled fast and furious.

Joanie B. was no match for Alice's speed when it came to cake (or any food for that matter). By the time Joanie B. had wobbled up, the cake was nearly gone.

Laurenjoan: Ahhh, you chickens - you eat like French kids eat -- everything!

Yes, Alice and Joanie B., are French Hen Parenting in action - they eat all their vegetables and everything else. All food is real food, is happy food. They never snack - every bit of food is a meal to them. And, they always eat together and don't let anything distract them. (See "French Food Rules" from French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon)

And, once they lay an egg - there it sits - all by itself in the nest. No guilt, no stress, Bebe, Maman has a right to a life of her own.

French mothers...love their children as much as anyone,
but don't see them as their entire life project,
to the exclusion of professional satisfaction,
adult leisure time and quality time with a spouse.
--from - Bringing up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman

C'est la Laurenjoan:

Move aside Tiger Moms -- French Parenting and French Moms are the latest in fashionable parenting-style for American parents to try on for size.

French children are known for their good manners and behavior and healthy eating. Karen Le Billon wrote an entire book on French eating expectations of their children: French Kids Eat Everything. Pamela Drucker writes intriquingly about French parenting styles in her book, Bringing up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting.

Certainly "food for thought." I know I found both Drucker and Le Billon to have gotten me to thinking...hmmm, sounds a lot like good old fashioned 1960/70's American parenting that I grew up on..."eat your vegetables," "don't interrupt," "finish your homework.."...

Even Karen Le Billon goes on to write on Huffingtonpost:

Why We Don't Need to Parent Like the French (With One Exception) by Karen Le Billon .... with traditional French parenting values: children are obliged to comply with high expectations at a young age, from table manners to cursive writing (which many French kindergarteners have mastered better than I). The result: seemingly model children.

Well - you might want to try French Parenting Style on for size - if so, try these resources available at Sant Clara County District Libraries:

Resources on French Parenting Styles

Bringing up Bébé

French Kids Eat Everything

French parenting isn't a known thing, like French fashion or French cheese. Even French parents themselves insist they aren't doing anything special. Yet, the French children Druckerman knows sleep through the night at two or three months old while those of her American friends take a year or more. French kids eat well-rounded meals that are more likely to include braised leeks than chicken nuggets. And while her American friends spend their visits resolving spats between their kids, her French friends sip coffee while the kids play. ...French mothers assume that even good parents aren't at the constant service of their children and that there's no need to feel guilty about this... Bringing up Bébé

Combining personal anecdotes with practical tips and recipes, the author shares her observations on how the French foster healthy eating habits and good manners in babies and children, and tests ten French Good Rules for a family food revolution. French Kids Eat Everything

Also available in audio or ebook format - for download

(audio) Bringing up Bébé

(ebook) French Kids Eat Everything

And for review - if you like:

Tiger Mother in book or ebook formats

(book) Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

(ebook) Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

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Sources -

C'est la poulette song (with new English translation by Laurenjoan)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/111039910/plush-art-doll-la-goulue-french-cancan

Early Literacy for Your Little Chicks

 

The cock crows in the morning
To tell us to rise,
And he that lies late
Will never be wise;
For early to bed,
And early to rise,
Is the way to be healthy
And wealthy and wise.

It was 6:04 a.m. and still very dark. The sun was not up yet (sunrise in early February wasn't gonna happen 'til 7 a.m.). Laurenjoan, however, was up and at 'em - stumbling through the dark backyard to the chicken coop. There was not a peep in the coop, all seemed sleepy quiet, but when the coop door rattled open Alice popped her head out and then jumped to the ground. Joanie B., meanwhile, was still waking up.

Alice: Wrawwk - I know I want to be healthy, wealthy and wise, but this is awful early to rise isn't it?

Laurenjoan: I know we don't usually get up before the sun, but that's what SCCLD's Librari-hens do for Every Child Ready to Read training with Sarjo Ghoting, Early Childhood Literacy Consult.

Joanie B. came wobbling up, looking a little wonky.

Joanie B: Braaak! Who turned off the sun??

Alice: We need to get up early to wise up, I mean to get wise about getting ready to read. While we wait for the sun, take a look at the Overview of Early Literacy poster from the Library of Virginia Early Literacy webpage.

 

Joanie B: Cluck! Saroj helps by decoding the poster.

Alice: Wrraaight! We've got resources, now let's go and get there! As the song says:

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun (doo doo doo doo)
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right.

Notes from Laurenjoan:

SCCL Children's Services had the opportunity to host a training session for librarians on the Every Child Ready to Read^® @ your library^® - a parent education initiative of The Public Library Association (PLA) and Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) of the American Library Association (ALA).


The training -- STAR POWER™ :Sing Talk And Read Play On and Write for Easier Reading™--Putting Every Child Ready to Read® 2nd ed into Practice was presented by nationally recognized early literacy consultant and librarian Saroj Ghoting.
SCCLD Children's Services librarians will be sharing hints on early literacy for young children, infants through preschool, and their parents/caregivers in storytimes and other programs in times ahead.

For more information - checkout these books on early literacy and encouraging your baby/toddler/preschooler to be ready to read:

Resources on Early Literacy - for checkout from SCCLD libraries

Raising Confident Readers	Beyond Bedtime Stories
Growing A Reader from Birth	What to Read When

Reference Resources (in-house, in-library use only)

Early Literacy Storytimes @ your Library

The Early Literacy Kit

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Sources:
http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2011/06/the_cock_crows_in_the_morning.html
The Beatles - Here Comes The Sun Lyrics Writer(s): LENNON/HARRISON/MCCARTNEY
Note on the early literacy poster: With the assistance of Saroj Ghoting, early literacy consultant, the Library of Virginia graphics arts department created an early literacy poster which reflects the research and principles outlined in second edition of Every Child Ready to Read®